Weight Loss (cont.)

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

How do you lose weight?

The most effective method for weight loss is reducing the
number of calories you consume while increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity. To lose
1 pound, you need an expenditure of approximately 3,500 calories. You can achieve this either by cutting back on your food intake, by increasing physical activity, or ideally, by doing both.

For example, if you consume 500 extra calories per day for one week without changing your activity level, you will gain
1 pound in weight (seven days multiplied by 500 calories equals 3,500 calories, or the number of calories resulting in a
1-pound weight gain). Likewise, if you eat 500 fewer calories each day for a week or burn 500 calories per day through exercise for one week,
you will lose 1 pound.

Examples of calorie content of some popular foods and beverages include the
following:

One slice of original-style crust pepperoni pizza - 230
calories

One glass of dry white wine - 160 calories

One can of cola - 150 calories

One quarter-pound hamburger with cheese - 500 calories

One jumbo banana nut muffin - 580 calories

Any activities you do throughout the day are added to
your BMR (basal metabolic rate) to determine the total number of calories you burn each day. For example, a 170-pound person who spends 45 minutes walking
briskly will burn about 300 calories. The same time spent on housecleaning burns
about 200 calories, and mowing the lawn for 45 minutes consumes around 275
calories.

How fast should you expect to lose weight?

Most experts agree that a safe, healthy rate of weight loss is one to 1 to 1½ pounds per week. Modification of eating habits along with regular exercise is the most effective way to lose weight over the long term. It is also the ideal way to ensure that the weight stays off.

Starvation diets may result in rapid weight loss, but this type of weight loss can be unsafe and is almost impossible to maintain for most people. When food intake is severely restricted (below approximately 1,200 calories per day), the body begins to adapt to this state of poor nutrition by reducing its metabolic rate, potentially making it even more difficult to lose weight. It is also possible to experience hunger pangs, bouts of hypoglycemia, headaches, and mood changes from overly stringent dieting. These symptoms can result in binge eating and weight gain. Since a highly restrictive diet is almost impossible to maintain for a long time, people who attempt to starve themselves thin often start to gain weight again when they stop dieting and resume their former eating habits.